Headlight-turning means for vehicles.



O. H. PADDOCK. HEADLIGHT TURNING MEANS FOR VEHICLES.

3 SHEETSSHEET 1.

'W-ITNESSES IVENTOR.

4% @Mmm @Lmd, 5 60m @wm r -W Patented Oct. 12, 1915.

0. H. PADDOCK.

HEADLIGHT TURNING MEANS FOR VEHICLES. APPLI CATION FILED AUG-24. 1914fWITNESSESZQ INVENTOR.

M WKQMMM, $5. J M W Patented Oct. 12,1915.

-3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

O. H. PADDOCK.

HEADLIGHT TURNING MEANS FOR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-24. I914. 1,156,623. Patented 00t.12,1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3v Q 1 T L INVENTOR.

WITNESSESI- E 2 mwm ra,

ORMONID H. PADDOCK, OF TOLEDO, OHIO.

HEADLIGHT-TURNING- "I VLEANS FOR VEHICLES.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OnMoNn H. Pannoox, a citizen of the United States,and a resi-' dent of Toledo, in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio,have invented a certain new and useful Headlight-Turning Means forVehicles; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters ofreference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification. p

My invention relates particularly to head lalnp moving means forautomobiles, but is not restricted to such use as it may be used in anyconnection for which it may be adapted or appropriate.

The object of my invention is the provision of automatically operablemeans for horizontally turning one or the other of a pair of h ad lampsof a vehicle upon a turning of the vehicle in either of oppositedirection. whereby upon making a turn in one direction one lamp is movedrelative to the vehicle in the direction of turning and the other lampremains in substantially sta tionar v or straight-ahead positionrelative to the vehicle, and vice versa, thus enhancing thepracticability of vehicle head lamps.

The invention is fully described in the following specification, andwhile, in its broader aspect, it is capable of embodiment in numerousforms, a preferred and two modified, forms of the same are illustratedin v the av-eoinpai'rving dmwings, in whichi igure l is a frontelevation of a vehicle equipped, with my invention with the steering-bardisposed at the rear of the front axle. is a sectional side elevationthereof. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail-of a por ion. of the invention.Fig. is a plan of the front portion of a vehicle chassis w. .h the doFrame bars removed and parts of the in on in operative position. Fig. 5a diagram of the relative nmveinents of the headlight moving; parts withthe steering-bar disposed at the rear of the axle, as shown in Fig. lia'. is an enlarged de tail of one. ft of the. dia *ain shown in Fig.Fig, Y is a view sii'uilar to FigP- t with the Wi ning-bar disposcdinfi'rout of the axle and the mechanism embodying the inventionnurdified to suit the changed posi- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 24, 1914. Serial N0. 853,235.

Patented Oct. is, @115.

tion of such bar. Fig. 8 is a diagram of the relative movements of thehead lamp and nioving parts shown in Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is a similar diagramof the movement of the form of the invention which is slightly modifiedover thatshown in Fig. 7, and Fig.

' 10 is a plan of such modification.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates the front axle of an automobile,2, 2 the front or steering-wheel carrying-knuckles, which are attachedto the ends of the axle in'the usual or any suitable manner forhorizontal turning movements'relative thereto.

3, 3 designate the side frame bars of an automobile chassis, and 4,4:the springs, which are interposed between the axle 1 and the front endportion s'of the side bars.-

In a majority of the automobiles manufactured the steering knuckles 2are each provided with a rearwardly extending arm 5, which arms areconnected at the rear of the axle by a steering rod 6, as shown in Figs.1, 2 and 4:- In some automobiles, however, the steering knuckles 2 areprovided with forwardly extending arms, as shown in Fig. 7, which armsare designated 5 and connected by asteering rod'6 disposed in advance ofthe axle 1.

Attached to each side-bar 3 in advance of the automobile radiator 7 inthe present instance, at the inner side of the side-bar, is a bearingarm or bracket 8 in which is mounted a vertically disposed rock-shaft orstem 9,'the upper end of which is forked to adapt it to carry ahead-lamp 10. The shaft or stem 9 is shown, in the present instance,(see-Fig. 3) as being pinned or otherwise suitably fixed to a. flangedbushing member 11, which has a bearing in the free or outer end portionof each preferably,

but notnecessarily', in ball-and-socket joint connection with anassociated link or bar 16, as shown at 17in Fig. 3. The bars 16, 16extend rearwardly in the present instance,

in converging relation from the respective arms-15, 15-and, if thesteering-bar 6 is disposed at the rear of the axle, each has universalconnection therewith, as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. If, the steeringmechanism is of the type-in which the steering-bar is disposed inadvance of the front axle the rear end of'each bar 16 is connected tothe steering bar 6 through the medium of a 1 ,1ever member 18, whichextends forwardly from the rear end of the bar 16 across the axle 1 andhas its forward end pivotally connected to the steering bar 6, as at 19,and

its rear end universally connected to the rear end of the bar 16. Thefulcrum of the lever 18 is located, in the present instance, at

20 and projects upward from the axle 1. If desired the pivot 20, insteadof acting as a true fulcrum for the lever 18, may have 2 slidingconnection with the lever 18 longitudinally thereof, as indicated inFig. 10, in which figure 18 designates the lever which is longitudinallyslotted, as at 18" for the pivot pin -20 to project through.

'The idea of the invention is best understood by reference to thediagrammatical figures of the same, those shown'in Figs. 5 and 6 beingtaken up first. v

When the steering-arms 5 are in a central position, 0 R, the lamps areboth held in a central or straight-ahead.position. Each of the right andleft hand attachmentsembodying this form of the invention are designatedA B C. 'As the steering-arms are moved from a central position through amaximum angle, say, 30, in turning the machine to the left, the lefthand or inside lamp remainspractically stationary, the left attachmentthen assuming the position A B C. 40 It will be noted that the left handlamp occupies'a true straight-ahead position both when the steering-armsare in a central position and when turned in one direction a maximumdistance. Midway between these two positions of-the steering-arms, thelamp is turned to the left, about its axis, in the direction in whichthe machine is turning, through a very slight angle of not over 3 to 5,due to the fact that an are about point B which intersectspoint C and Cvaries from the arc of movement of point C, as indicated by the full anddotted arcuate lines intersect- .ing the points C C, in Fig. 6. The samemovement of the steering-arms 5 produces an angular turning movementtoward the left of the right-hand lamp proportional to the movement ofthe steering-arms, as shown by right hand attachment position A B 0,.With the steering-arms turned to a maximum position of 30 the lamp isturned about its axis approximately 35. In turning the machine in theopposite direction the action of the lamps is reversed. In turning themachine in either direction the outside lamp 'turns in the direction inthe rod 16 is both at the neutral position-G -mum turning movement of tiwhich the machine is turning, while the inside lamp is held in itsstraight-ahead posi-,

tion or practically so. With the two st'eer- I ing-arms .5 in thepositions 0 R, and 0 R respectively, onelamp attachment is always inposition A C, and the other in position I A B C It is found byexperimenting that the ratio between the turning angle ofthe lamps andthe steering arms'f) is variable, controlled by various elements in thedesign. For instance, the length of the steering-arms s fixed by thedesign of the automobile, and 1 the design of the headlight controllingattachment must vary so that for any length of the arm, the desiredangular movements of the amp may be obtained.

The point of connection of the rod. 16 with the steering rod ,6 may bevaried without affecting the invention. As a steering- 3E arm moves fromone-maximum position R to the other maximum position R, C describes thearc of a circle G, C 0,, with center at F. The center F having beenlocated, the angle C F C is bisected through F. The position ofthe pointB, which is, the point of connection of the attachment members-15 and16, is determined by the line of bisection G F produced-through F, assaid point must fall some placeon such line. It is therefore evidentthat the point B is identical for the two positions of the steering rodR C and B C 11. 6., the lamp will have a true straight-ahead positionwhen the point of connection between the steering rod6 and and theshifted position G which shifted position may or may not be the maximumturning position of such point. As the steering arm 0 R moves from acentral position to a maximum right turning position, 0 R (Fig. 6),13 Ctakes the position 13 C and the lamp is turned to the right through anangle The angle g, which is the maxi- .e arm A B or the lamp, variesdirectly as ihe length of the steering arm 0, R, z. 0., it increases aslength 0 R increases.

The dotted line A E represents the distance between the vertical planeof the points A 11 and C, and it will be seen that theangle y varies ininverse proportion to this distance.

As A E increases, the lateral position of A to C remaining constant, yincreases. It will also be seen that as length A B decreases the turningangle y increases. It is found that the practical working range ofangular movement of the lamp can be made to vary from 60% less to 50%greatelithul the angular movement of the steering-arms. 5 The designand'adjustment of the attaeh- I ment parts should be such that thatangle between the members 15 and 16 is not greater than when the lamp isin straighb ahead position, as this will illsll efpositive 1 and -ismasses 7 action and will avoid possibility of dead center.

the rod 16 and fulcruming such lever at "a point designated F in thediagram (Fig. 8). In the diagram, let G represent the point ofconnection between the members 18 and 16,

D the point or connection between the members 6 and 18, and F thefulcrum point of the lever l8, the other designations being the same asin the diagram (Figs. 5 and 6), and it will be notedthat the are C, C Ccorresponds to the like arc in Figs. 5 and 6 and that the are D, l) D,is the same. The point B is found in the same manner as previouslydescribed, namely, by bisecting the angle C F O and placing such pointon the line of bisection produced through F. It is also found that it isnot necessary to provide the lever member 18 with a fixed center, as

the pivot pin for such lever may be placed eccentrically and projectthrough a slot in the lever, as shown at 18 (Fig. 10) to permit alongitudinal movement of the lever relative to the axle. The diagram ofmove ment of this form is illustrated in Fig. 9 and from it it will benoted that the point C, when moved, does not describe a true arc due toa changing of the pivot F relative to the ends of the lever member whensuch member is being swung, otherwise the action is the same asdescribed in connection with Fig, 8.

, It is therefore apparent that the general design of the attachment,the shaping of the steeringarms, the position of the lamps andattachment on the automobile, and the method of attaching the lamps andthe turning attachments to the machine are all subject to considerablevariatiomfand depend largely on various elements in the construction andthe design of the automobile upon which the attachment is to be used,such as the relative positions, proportions and shapes ofthesteering-arms,connecting rods and axles, and the design of the frontspring suspension and position of the lamps Tlfiev appearance andon theautomobile. the desired turning movements of the lamps should also beconsidered.

I wish it understood that my invention is not limited to specificconstruction, arrangement or form of the parts except in so far as suchlimitations are specified in the claims.

Having thus described invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is,

1 In a vehicle, av steering wheel, a headlampmounted for horizontalpivotalmovements, means having connection with and movable upon asteering movement of said wheel, a double-link connection betweensaidlamp and a swinging point on said means, the point of connection ofsaid links when the steering wheel and lamp are in straight- ,aheadposition substantially falling on a line which is equidistant frompredeter mined positions of said swinging point duning a swingingmovement thereof and pixiduced through the swinging axis of syichPOlIlt.

2. In a vehicle, a steering wheel, ahead: lamp mounted for horizontalpivotal/movements, mechanism having connection with and movable upon asteering inoveinent of said wheel, an arm connected to ahd'havingcoaxial swinging movements with said lamp, and means connecting said armand a swinging point on said means, the point of connection of saidmeans and arm when the steering wheel and lamp are in straight-aheadposition substantially falling on a line which is equidistant frpm thpentral position of said swinging pointand a predetermined position ofthe same to which it may be swung from said neutral position.

3. In a. vehicle, a steering wheel, a headlamp mounted for horizontalpivotal movements, mechanism having connection with and movable upon asteering movement of said wheel, an arm connected to and having coaxialswinging movements with said lamp, and means connecting said arm and aswinging point on said mechanism, the connection between said means andarm being of a pivotal nature and, when the steering wheel and lamp arein straight-ahead position, substantially falling on a perpendicu arline which bisects a chord of a predetermined curve described by saidswinging point.

4. In a vehicle, asteering wheel, a headlamp mounted for horizontalpivotal move ments, mechanism having connection with between said meansand arm being of a pivotal nature and, when the steering wheel and lampare in straight-ahead position,

substantially falling on the produced center radius line of one are ofmovement of said swinging point from straight-ahead posi- I tion.

5. In a vehicle, a steering wheel, a headlamp mounted for horizontalpivotal movements, means havingiconnection with and movable upon asteering movement of said wheel, a double-link connection between saidlamp and a swinging point on said means, the point of connection of saidlinks when the steering wheel and mechanism are in straight-aheadposition substantially falling on the produced center radius line of oneare of movement of said swinging point from straight-ahead position.

6, In a vehicle, a steering rod, a headlamp mounted for horizontalpivotal move- 'ments and having a laterally projecting arm, and meansconnecting said steering rod and arm and having pivotal connection witheach and having a swinging point, the point of connection of said meanswith said arm, when the steer ng wheel and lamp are in member and arm,when the steering wheel and lamp are 1n straight-ahead position,

substantially falling on the produced center radius line of one are ofmovement of the point of connection of said member and steering rodfrom, straight-ahead position.

8. In a vehicle, a steering rod, a head lamp mounted for horizontalpivotal movements and having an arm swinging therewith, a link havingpivotal connection with each said arm and rod and describing an obtuseangle with said arm when the steering rod and lamp are in straight-aheadposi- 9. The combination with the steering-- knuckle connecting-bar of avehicle, of a.

pair of head-lamps carried for relative piv otal movements by thevehicle, of separate mechanisms connecting said lamps and bar atdifferent points on the latter for causing one lamp to have turningmovements relative to-the vehicle and permitting the other lamp toremain substantially stationary relative to the vehicle when said bar ismoved in one direction, and viceversa.

10. The combination with a longitudinally shiftable connecting bar ofthe steering gear of a vehicle, of a pair of lamp carrying-shaftsmounted'for horizontal turning movements relative to the vehicle, and ajointed-arm connection betweeneach shaft and said gear, saidconnectionsbeing attached to said-bar at separated points respectively andbroken'in opposite directions whereby a movement of the steering-gear toturn the vehicle in one direction will impart a rocking movement to oneshaft and permit the other to remain approximately stationary relativeto the vehicle, and vice versa.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

, ()RMOND I'LPADDOCK.

Vitnesses E. E. TnoMAs, M. H. MAYERS.

to this specification in the

